• GDP: US$528 million (2007).
• Main exports: Bananas, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch and tennis rackets.
• Main imports: Food, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilisers, minerals and fuels.
• Main trade partners: EU, Barbados, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.

St Vincent and the Grenadines is poor by Eastern Caribbean standards, with agriculture the main source of income and export earnings. Bananas are the main crop, but St Vincent is also the world’s leading producer of arrowroot and grows other exotic fruit, vegetables and root crops. Fishing has also been revitalised and a processing complex has been built with Japanese assistance. Agriculture is especially vulnerable to the unpredictable, often adverse weather patterns of the Caribbean.

Tourism is the other main component of the economy. By regional standards, this was relatively late to evolve and was initially hampered by the lack of a suitable infrastructure. This was addressed with the help of aid from the European Union and the industry is now growing rapidly: the most recent figures record its contribution to the economy at US$90 million. A small manufacturing sector and an embryonic ‘offshore’ financial services industry complete the country’s economic inventory.

Short- or long-sleeved shirt and tie are suitable for most business visits.

Government office hours: These vary from department to department but generally Mon-Fri 0800-1615, with some opening for a few hours Saturday morning.

For information, contact the St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourist Office (see Contact Addresses).

St Vincent and the Grenadines Chamber of Industry and Commerce
PO Box 134, Coreas Building, Hillsborough Street, Kingstown, St Vincent
Tel: 457 1464.
Website: www.svgcic.com